Up on the Warrior Dome, Galvanax arrived back, and was quickly swarmed by attendants. The audience was already abuzz, having seen the Champion break off from battle.

"Get back you parasites!" Ripcon warned them, drawing one of his katana. "Clear some room, the Champ..."

"The Champ is absolutely FINE!" Galvanax roared, shoving both Ripcon and Odious back, hefting his championship belt onto his shoulder. He started striding confidently to the edge of the stage. "It is but a scratch!"

"But Champ..."

"The Rangers are no serious match for me, finishing them now would be pointless!" Galvanax stated, before looking to Cosmo. "They wanted a taste of what it means to mess with the champion, and they got it! Now, they can earn their shot just like everyone else! They aren't worthy of falling to my blade!"

"You heard it folks, your champion just wanted to give you a little taste of what may come!" Cosmo declared as he took the mic, beginning to whip up the crowd. He was glad that the fight had been broken off, not because he genuinely cared whether either Galvanax or the Rangers fell, but because thanks to Galvanax jumping the gun, the match would have been broadcast essentially for free on standard network television. He had hoped to preserve their first meeting for a special Pay-Per-View event, but now, now he was hoping that with a little damage control and massaging of the facts, he could turn this into a fantastic advertising opportunity. "The Champ is gracious to those who would earn their way to the top, and is giving Slowgre, one of our long-term talents who has racked up an impressive string of victories!"

The crowd let out another cheer, seeming to be glad that the show hadn't come to an abrupt end. They were already lapping up the spectacle of Galvanax in action, and seeing that cut short had to be disappointing, but now, knowing that the champion was just toying with the Rangers in order to generate interest in a re-match. Cosmo grinned evilly seeing the crowd buying what he was selling. They were marks in the truest sense of the word, he could sell them turds and call them diamonds and they'd buy everything he had to offer.

"Now that we've seen the Champion showing the Rangers their place, let's see how they fare against someone on their level!" Cosmo declared. Galvanax stepped off the stage with Ripcon and Odious, striding confidently towards his quarters.

"You were acting all along! You were giving them a false sense of confidence!" Ripcon said with a smile. "Nice work champ! I should have known that Rat Bait wouldn't be able to take you down, he isn't even a match for me!"

"You got lucky. Your fans saw you bleed." Odious reminded him.

"Only because I wanted them to think they had a chance!" Galvanax growled, snatching the pauldron from her and throwing it to Wrench, who was taking a maintenance report from one of his interns. "You there! Fix this and bring it to my quarters to re-attach!"

"He's quite the showman." Ripcon said, looking to Odious. "You don't need to worry; your meal ticket is still just fine."

As he left, Odious just breathed a sigh of relief, before shaking her head.

"I never put all my eggs in one basket." She answered, heading for one of her secret doors. "You got lucky today champ. I'm not losing my revenue stream because of your carelessness!"

Back on Earth, the battle with Slowgre was well underway. The Rangers were already hurting and exhausted after their battle with Galvanax, but there was no time for a rest between rounds. Although there were no people around, they couldn't afford to risk letting Slowgre and his Kudabots taking the fight somewhere there were.

"A ninja fighting a turtle? That's a wacky combination!" Brody said as he took on his opponent. Calvin just looked to Hayley as he struck down a Kudabot.

"He's joking right?" He asked. "He's never heard of..."

"Calvin, I was ONLY kidnapped ten years ago!" He reminded him. "The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were a thing in 2007!"

"Well I could really do without these FOOT bots!" Preston responded, sliding along the ground and cutting the feet off six of the Kudabots as he went, causing them to fall to the ground, where they just flailed helplessly. "Get it?"

"Wow, I am so glad I met you guys!" Sarah giggled, cutting down another couple. "I used to think I was a dork until I met you."

"That's it for the Kudabots!" Hayley exclaimed as she took down the last of them, driving her sword through its chest and bearing it to the ground. "Come on, Brody needs help."

"They say you're tough!" Slowgre taunted the Red Ranger as he blocked one of his attacks, knocking him down. "No wonder Galvanax decided you weren't worth his time."

"Hey, shell-brain!" Sarah called out, kicking him in the back from the air. She felt the force reverberate up her leg from the impact as Slowgre barely moved. She started hopping away. "Kicking a giant turtle in the shell, yeah, good call Sarah!"

"You know, there is another word for what your boss did." Calvin said as he grabbed the creature, holding it in place. "Where I come from, we call it RUNNING AWAY!"

Hayley ran at him, swinging her sword into his exposed chest, but before long, Slowgre had broken out of Calvin's grip. Seeing that he was now surrounded, he just smiled, realising that now was the time for his special ability. He hit the valve on his gas tank and started to spin around, creating a huge cloud around himself. Sarah, Calvin and Hayley were all caught in the cloud and fell to the ground, coughing.

"Whoa, that is RANK!" Calvin spluttered. "He just...sprayed us with something."

"I feel...really weird." Hayley agreed as they all looked up at Slowgre. He was bearing down on them, ready to attack.

"How do you like my mist Rangers?" He cackled. Just then, Preston came into view. The Blue Ranger could feel his exhaustion building, but seeing his friends in trouble, he knew he had to do something or they could be crushed before they had a chance to recover. He doubted he had much strength left for an attack, but that was when a thought came to him. He didn't need strength. At least...not physical strength, all he needed was the newfound power of the Ninja Steel. He had never tried to use his magic in an attack before, but he had managed to stop a cup falling and produced a couple of rabbits...that was KIND of the same thing right?

"Dragon's Ire, Mystic FIRE!" He called out, waving his hands in the air. The Rangers all watched as blue energy formed up around his outstretched arm, taking on the form of a dragon, before a thirty foot column of flame erupted from its mouth, heading straight for Slowgre. The creature screamed and started dancing in pain.

"Hot, hot, hot, hot...!" He screamed, before disappearing from view.

"Whoa, amazing!" Preston called out as he de-morphed, staring at his hands with a huge, bright smile on his face. The other Rangers were by his side as quickly as they could, de-morphing as well. They were grateful for the respite that Preston's new power had bought them; none of them felt much like continuing the fight. "Easy! Did you guys see that? Wasn't that dragon I made awesome?"

"Yeah, I must admit, it was pretty cool." Sarah agreed. "Or...you know...hot!"

"You know, I think I'm ready to show the world some real magic!" Preston declared, grinning brightly. He couldn't help thinking about his disappointing show earlier on, and how Victor had ruined it before he even started. He wondered if he would be able to wreck the illusion if there was no trick. It would be kind of hard to argue that a person was levitating if the whole audience could surround them and check for themselves that there were no wires or rods or anything holding them up as opposed to some sleight of hand tricks involving rings or wands to try and convince them.

"Preston...what you did was cool, but...I'm not so sure..." Sarah started to say, seeing the thought processes going on in her friend's head. She had to admit that if she had abilities that spectacular, it would be tempting to show them off. However, she had remembered her friends in Amber Beach telling her that there were some unofficial rules for the Rangers, and one of those was not using their powers for personal gain. Preston though didn't seem to be listening as he turned back to her, pointing back to the rest of them.

"Tomorrow morning, I'm putting on my best show EVER!" He declared. "See you back at school!"

With that, he clicked his fingers and disappeared. Brody and the others all looked to each other and groaned, realising that they were left walking.

"Well, at least we've got home economics this afternoon." Hayley grumbled. "Right now, I could use a whole lot of chocolate!"

"Hey, I still have the money from the pet store." Brody reminded them. "How about we stop off for doughnuts on the way?"

"That sounds great to me!" Calvin announced.

As they left, Slowgre appeared from hiding, watching them leave. He looked to one of the Buzz-cams and started laughing.

"The Rangers think they've beaten me, but this is just round one!" He declared. "My mist will soon slow them all down, to a crawl!"

Up on the Warrior Dome, Wrench came into Galvanax's chambers rather nervously, carrying his pauldron after effecting repairs on it. He didn't really have too much to do; the only thing that had actually been damaged was the strap.

"Master Galvanax?" He asked cautiously, coming in. He didn't get an answer. As he came in, he looked around, finding the creature kneeling on a mat, facing away from him. He approached him quietly and cautiously, hoping not to arouse his anger for interrupting him while he was meditating.

He could see his exposed shoulder, and the wound that the Rangers had inflicted. It looked hand-stitched, like Galvanax had seen to it himself, and he was kneeling over some kind of device that was burning, releasing a fine mist into the air. He presumed it was probably some kind of pain medication.

"Master Galvanax?" He asked coming closer. As he was almost on him though, Galvanax grabbed him, before snapping to his feet and driving him against a wall. "Master Galvanax, it's me! I fixed your armour!"

"The Champ doesn't let just anyone into his chambers." Odious declared as she arrived. Wrench couldn't see where she had come from; he thought they were the only ones in the room. She approached him regally, not exactly in a hurry to get the champion to let him go. "All communications are meant to go through his business manager...that would be me by the way. If you value your life, in future I would advise you remember that and don't enter his chambers without me."

Wrench just nodded wildly in understanding. Odious just looked to Galvanax and smiled.

"He can't exactly re-attach your pauldron if you're holding him can he?" She asked. Galvanax just released Wrench, before returning to a kneeling position. As Wrench got to work, Galvanax could only think about his battle with the Rangers. While he had been dominant, and he had every confidence he could defeat them, he had underestimated them and it had cost him. He could only hope that his air of invincibility had only been eroded just enough that it would pique interest in a rematch, without causing some to believe he had run scared. One thing was certain though; it had been far too long since he had tested himself. Tomorrow, his training would intensify. By the time the Rangers worked their way up the ranks and faced him again, he would be ready.

Back at the Ranger Base, Mick was working in the work shop when Brody arrived at the end of the school day. He was carrying a box of doughnuts, or at least what was left of them.

"Hey Mick, you really have to try these." He told him. "Um...I hope you like custard filing, that was the only one I had left, and I had to practically wrestle Sarah to the ground to keep it."

"Brody, great...um...thanks." Mick told him. "Brody, I want you to come and have a look at this."

He took Brody over to some charts he had been working on. Brody just nodded politely as if they meant something to him.

"Um...this is all really impressive..." He could see Mick wasn't buying it and just sighed. "...OK, I have no idea what any of this even means. What am I looking at?"

"Well, Preston has shown us that contact with the Ninja Steel affects people with its mystical energies right?" Mick asked him. "The thing is, I don't think he's the only one that's been affected. I think you have too."

"Me?" Brody asked. "Mick, I can do some cool stuff, but I can't pull rabbits out of thin air or conjure up dragons..."

"The Ninja Steel enhances people's passions. It latches onto what's important to them and heightens that enabling them to do great things." Mick told him. "In Preston's case, it was magic that was far more visible so we couldn't really miss it when he started..."

"Making stuff appear from nowhere?" Brody asked.

"Exactly." Mick told him. "I decided to study you because out of all of you, you've had the longest connection to the Ninja Steel."

"Mick, I handled it like a couple of times when I was eight." Brody told him. "My dad might have had some wild ideas about training his kids but even he thought letting an eight and twelve year old run around with razor sharp shuriken was a pretty bad idea."

"But I think that was enough." Mick told him. "On this chart, I've plotted roughly where I would expect someone to be in their training in ninjitsu if they had the training you did under your dad and had taught themselves after that."

"You've been studying me?" Brody asked him.

"It's not as creepy as it sounds." Mick told him. "But...here's roughly where you are now."

Brody didn't claim to understand the working, but he could see the difference in the two charts. The one showing his actual progression was way higher than the one of his projected progression.

"Um...Mick, are you sure...?"

"Brody, when we were escaping, you explained to me that breathing technique, that...Prada..."

"Prana." Brody corrected him.

"You said your father never trained you to do it, but you can do it anyway." Mick stated. "Your training comes to you naturally. Concepts and ideas that should be beyond you are coming to you. I think...I think the Ninja Steel has increased your natural affinity for learning and creation of your martial arts techniques."

"Mick, I've just been working hard..."

"But working hard doesn't explain how you can do things you've never been taught by anyone!" Mick interrupted him. "Brody, this is a powerful gift, one that I've suspected for a while, but even your short contact with the Ninja Steel has made you..."

"A Super Ninja?" He asked.

"A super LEARNER of ninjitsu." Mick clarified.

"Mick, I only handled the Ninja Steel a couple of times when I was a kid, and then when we got it back on Earth." Brody stated. "The others have been handling it non-stop for weeks."

"And Preston is already able to bend the laws of reality to his will." Mick concluded. "I think for everyone's sake, we all need to keep an eye on the others."

"Yeah, that would probably be a good idea." Brody agreed, picking up the doughnut and biting it, before realising what he had done. He looked across to Mick, who did not seem amused. "Um...sorry."

The following morning, the Rangers had gotten to school early, more for their support of Preston's latest show than any real desire to take part in the school's breakfast programme. As she went to the counter, Sarah looked into a tray of bacon with a disgusted look on her face.

"Are you a vegetarian too?" Hayley asked.

"Most definitely not." Sarah responded, holding a hand across her stomach. "But I've been feeling weird ever since that turtle..."

"Yeah, I didn't have much of an appetite either last night." Hayley agreed. "Neither did Calvin, we actually had a couple of slices of pizza left!"

"Calvin failing to finish ANYTHING?" Sarah asked in response. "That's practically front-page news."

As Hayley picked up a bowl of museli with berries and sultanas in it, she noticed a kid looking at her with an annoyed expression on his face. He started waving his hands around in an animated manner that indicated he wasn't happy.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realise that was yours!" Hayley said, her hands moving around as she spoke to the kid, who was returning with a jug of milk. She handed him the bowl, at which he took it. Her hands started moving again as she spoke. "I'm sorry, I'll pick something else."

As the kid nodded and left, Hayley just picked up a bowl of cereal. Sarah looked to her with a smile on her face.

"Hayley, I didn't know you knew sign language." Sarah commented. Hayley just looked to her.

"Um...I don't." Hayley responded. Sarah just looked confused.

"Hayley...you were just talking to that kid in sign language." She responded. "I could see his hearing aid."

"Sarah, I think I'd know if I could speak sign language." Hayley answered with a derisive laugh as they headed to their table to take in Preston's show. The Blue Ranger had set up an impressive array of tricks this time around

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Prepare to be amazed by..."

"The only amazing thing you could do is a trick that actually worked." Victor groaned. "Shut up and let us eat in peace!"

"Thank you Victor for volunteering for our first trick!" Preston announced, picking up his hat. "Come on up, if you think you can handle it."

Victor just rolled his eyes and got up, making his way over.

"You guys don't look so good." Brody said, looking to Calvin, Hayley and Sarah. Sarah just pushed her breakfast away from her.

"I don't feel so good either." She muttered. "I thought I'd be OK, but...now I really think I should go home."

"I think you should too. You're no good to us sick." Brody told her. "I'll tell Preston you've gone."

With that, they got up from the table and left. Brody turned his attention back to Preston's show.

"Now Victor, can you confirm that this is a completely ordinary hat?" Preston asked. Victor took it from him and started checking it for any signs of hidden pockets or a false top or anything else obvious. He threw it in the air to confirm it didn't weigh more than it should.

"It appears to be...an ordinary hat." Victor stated.

"Alright, now I shall make..."

"Wait...nothing involving the rabbit." Victor interrupted him. "I could do without your incontinent rodent peeing on me again."

"Oh...um...OK." Preston said, trying to think of something else. He had already come up with a spell for making his rabbit appear. He had even tried it a couple of times to be on the safe side. Now, he had to come up with something on the fly, but he had already managed to conjure a dragon when he needed one, how much more difficult could this be? He started to wave his hands around over the hat.

"Herbal Gerbil, Woolen Mitten...let Victor find a Gentle Kitten." He said, before tapping the rim of the hat. Victor looked into the hat, but dropped it almost immediately and fell to the floor, scooting away from it. The other students laughed, but only for a moment. Soon, they saw a large, black paw emerging from the hat, followed by a head...full of VERY sharp teeth! Before anyone knew what had happened, a full-size adult panther had appeared in the room.

There were screams of panic and everyone started to run for their lives. Monty was frozen to the spot in terror, and had to look like an appealing snack to the cat, because it started to approach him slowly, and sank down ready to pounce. Brody was going for his power star, but Preston held up his hat, at which the panther was drawn back inside.

Monty stood, staring for a moment, before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he collapsed on the floor unconscious. Brody just stared at Preston.

"Preston, what the HELL?" He yelled at him.

"I asked for a kitten, not a freaking PANTHER!" Preston screamed as he stared into the hat. "Why did it go wrong?"

"Attention students, this is your Principal speaking! We have heard reports of a dangerous wild animal on the premises!" An announcement came over the tannoy system. "Animal Control have been called and are on their way. We are urging all students to leave the school by the nearest available exit in a calm and orderly manner!"

"Well, the good news is that Sarah and the others don't need to worry about missing any school." Brody commented. "The bad news is, you've just managed to cause an evacuation!"

Preston just stared into his hat, which was now once more an empty, ordinary hat, wondering how in the world his spell could have gone so disastrously and potentially dangerously wrong.